High-level Learners Research Articles

Descriptions of spoken language for higher level learners: the example of questioning

English Language Teaching (ELT) has traditionally focused on the description and teaching of the written language, often to the neglect of the spoken language. Now developments in corpora of spoken language, and findings from discourse analysis of naturally occurring talk, enable English Language teachers to describe and present features of interactive speaking. One pervasive aspect of interactive speaking has to do with questioning routines. This article focuses on question-response sequences in academic and work settings, and examines the type of description of questioning conventionally offered in published ELT materials for higher-level learners, critically evaluating and relating it to samples of authentic interaction. It is argued that text-focused description and instruction offers a way of opening up talk, such as questioning, to higher-level learners, and of showing features of interactive spoken discourse neglected by conventional approaches.

BOOK NOTICES

The TESOL Quarterly prints brief book notices of 100 words or less announcing books of interest to readers. Book Notices are not solicited. They are descriptive rather than evaluative. They are compiled by the Book Review Editor from selected books that publishers have sent to TESOL.Learner‐Centredness as Language Education.: Ian TudorVocabulary, Semantics, and Language Education.: Evelyn Hatch and Cheryl BrownFrom Here to Autonomy: A Helsinki University Language Centre Autonomous Learning Project.: Helsinki, FinlandThe International Teaching Assistant: An Annotated Critical Bibliography (2nd ed.).: Ann ArborThe Construction of Professional Discourse. Britt‐Louise Gunnarsson, Per Linell, and Bengt NordbergMotivating High Level Learners: Activities for Upper Intermediate and Advanced Learners.: David CranmerIntroducing Functional Grammar.: Geoff ThompsonA Student's Dictionary of Language and Linguistics.: R. L. Trask

Making and Using Slides in the ESL Classroom

Posters are expensive, guest speakers rare and photos limited to those few students within eye range. The use of slides can present a welcome solution to teachers and students alike. They provide an interesting variation from classroom routine and cognitiveoriented exercises. The colourful visual element of slides encourages the imagination and distances students from too great a dependency on the written word. Slides can supplement intensive and evening ESL programmes and can be used to teach a variety of themes, everyday subjects and specific structures. This article is aimed especially at the high Beginner and low Intermediate level learners and should be of interest to instructors ranging from the secondary to adult education departments. Techniques encompassing the four skills are outlined. Finally, the possibility of using teacher or student-made slides generated by special projects is considered.